Roger Powell - Fossil Poets
In the 70’s and 80’s Roger’s groundbreaking electronic synthesizer albums Cosmic Furnace (Atlantic) and Air Pocket (Bearsville) were hailed as masterworks. A protégé of Robert Moog (Inventor of the Moog Synthesizer), Powell went on to create otherworldly synth textures for Todd Rundgren and Utopia.
“Even among the keyboard titans of the prog-rock Seventies, Roger Powell always stood out.” (Future Music U.S. Ed.- June ‘06). Legendary synth wiz Roger Powell returns with an all-new, groove oriented, retro-futuristic solo flight entitled Fossil Poets.
20th Century Guitar Magazine
Record Reviews
December, 2006
Released on the King Crimson dominated Discipline Global Mobile label, the 2006 CD from keyboard wonder Roger Powell is a top choice for fans of Robert Fripp and the KC crowd. Powell, renowned as a groundbreaking electronic keyboardist, earned a stellar reputation working with Todd Rundgren and Utopia.
As far away from pop as you can get, Fossil Poets sounds influenced by the intricate musical make-up of the ‘80’s King Crimson and Adrian Belew, yet there’s also a unique cutting edge vibe in play. For his latest instrumental outing, Powell is given top assistance by producer/keyboardist Gary Tanin with some Fripp- centric guitar textues from Greg Koch, who works wonders with his Fender custom shop Strat.
All About Jazz
By John Kelman
Best known as charter member of Todd Rundgren’s sometimes progressive/sometimes New Wave pop band Utopia, Roger Powell has also worked with David Bowie and Meat Loaf. Keith Emerson may have made a bigger splash with Emerson, Lake & Palmer, but it was Powell who, with Cosmic Furnace (Atlantic, 1973), released the first all-synthesizer rock record. Tangerine Dream had already been around for a few years, but its synth-laden work always featured other instruments, including guitar, bass, flute and violin. Fossil Poets is Powell's first solo record in a quarter century and, for fans of synth-heavy progressive rock, it’s a welcome return.
In addition to assorted keyboards, Powell also plays guitars, mandolin, flugelhorn and other instruments on this multi-layered collaboration with guitarist/bassist Greg Koch and synthesizer player/compositional collaborator Gary Tanin. Koch may not be a known entity to most listeners, but he’s built a solid career as a Fender clinician and a studio gun-for-hire. Tanin has been more focused on producing, engineering and mastering, but here he proves that studio technicians still require a strong set of ears and musical instincts.
What differentiates Powell from some of the more bloated progressive rock keyboardists of the 1970s is his utter lack of bombast. Closer in aesthetic to the similarly disposed Tangerine Dream, this music more about texture, groove and melody. Fossil Poets rocks harder than anything Tangerine Dream has put out, and while there are plenty of drum programs throughout, Powell isn’t interested in the more techno-centric direction that has occupied TD in recent years. In fact, from the opening track, “Lone Gunmen,” the rhythms that drive Powell’s vast array of sonics often not only sound natural, they also feel that way. Even the tablas on the urgent “Peaceful Uprising” feel organic beside the more mechanistic drum sequence that drives most of the track.
The majority of Fossil Poets revolves around strong grooves and dense layers of sound, which serve as foundations for integrated soloing from Powell and Koch. Koch is generally in hard rock territory here, although he trades in his overdriven tone for a cleaner, bluesy approach on the soft “Too Much Rain” and trades off between the two tones on the darker, atmospheric “Underwater City.” On “Miles per Gallon” Koch’s hard-edged tone alternates with Powell’s warm flugelhorn.
There’s a cinematic vibe at work on this album, although the imagery it evokes works best in the privacy of the listener’s imagination. Powell and Tanin draw from a variety of musical sources, but most revealing, perhaps, are two solo piano miniatures that demonstrate a surprising affinity for the language of jazz.
Fossil Poets is the kind of studio concoction that takes considerable time to conceive and execute. But partnered with the supportive Inner Knot label, hopefully Powell will find an audience big enough to support more frequent projects.
Keyboard Magazine
December, 2006
ERNIE RIDEOUT
Roger’s been out of the limelight since his days with Utopia. But his musical vision and synth chops have continued to evolve, and Fossil Poets exhibits his immense talents for telling stories via instrumental structures. Collaborating with Greg Koch and Gary Tanin, Roger blends his amazing array of synths (MOTM Modular, Moog Voyager, Nord Modular, just to name a few) with acoustic instruments, soft synths, and electric guitars to create an ever shifting auditory landscape. This is the sound of major musical talents having a lot of fun.
C R I T I C ' S P I C K
Lexington Herald-Leader
Fri, Dec. 29, 2006
WALTER TUNIS, CONTRIBUTING MUSIC CRITIC
Taking its name from a Ralph Waldo Emerson quotation ("Language is fossil poetry"), Fossil Poets is the first album of new music by keyboardist Powell in over 25 years.
Known largely for his recorded and touring work with Todd Rundgren from the early '70s to the early '90s, Powell was also a longtime protégé of the late synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog, to whom Fossil Poets is dedicated.
Since Powell has recorded so seldom on his own, he has, for such a practiced musical stylist, precious little legacy to live up to. So shades of the prog-rock persona he cultivated three decades ago are largely absent on the new album. But the album title is telling, as Fossil Poets is something of an archival dig. It resurrects the instrumental prog-rock dinosaur of seemingly ancient times and makes its bones dance to a new tune.
There are splashes of techno throughout Powell's new music, especially in its percussive sway. And instead of the multi-tracked, one-man-band approach he and Rundgren often favored, Fossil Poets opts for a group spirit enhanced by fellow keyboardist Gary Tanin and guitarist Greg Koch. Although having guitar to play off of briefly brings to mind the Rundgren collaborations, Fossil Poets more often recalls the latter-day music of Tangerine Dream in the darker, percolating synth layers that surround Delayed Reaction and the neo boogie grind that triggers Serpentine.
But Fossil Poets keeps you guessing. Tribe by Fire initially mixes prog-rock flair with a modest but propulsive dance groove. The results sound like a remixed version of the champion British psychedelic band Gong. But as the tune subtracts from its melody, flute and whistles color the soundscape.
The appropriately titled Miles Per Gallon later tosses together two eras of jazz innovation spearheaded by Miles Davis: the elegant trumpet cool he createdin the '50s and the jagged fusion of his late '60s albums. The combo sound is then slapped with scents of modern electronica and a bit of dirty funk that all but quotes Peter Gabriel's more recent music.
And just when you think Powell's game of spot-the-influence gets out of hand, he powers down for a pair of solo piano meditations, Dauphine and the album- closing Astrae. Both are criminally short (about a minute each) but manage to bring a welcomed, organic perspective to Fossil Poets' more progressive musical excavations.
For those wishing to make a digger deep of Powell's music, give a listen to Air Pocket. The keyboardist's second album was recorded in 1980, although its first domestic release on CD beat Fossil Poets into stores by only two months.
Air Pocket is the prog-rock sound of another era. On Windows, one of two tunes Powell also recorded with Rundgren's band Utopia, the pop-savvy synth arrangement is so deliriously dated you half expect the music to loop its way into the Rockford Files theme. The Rundgren inspirations are more keenly visible during vocal tunes like Morning Chorus.
Recommended only for die-hard fans, Air Pocket is a wild glimpse into pop mechanics that, in 1980, were considered innovative. But to see how those electronic seeds sprouted, try the thoroughly modern grind of the more heartily recommended Fossil Poets.
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